Hide and Seek
by Pax Morgana
Summary: Cain and Riff have been reincarnated as a set of twins. However, they are not just any twins, but Mary Weather's. How can they lead normal lives when they are constantly plagued by their memories, and feelings, of the past? Discontinued.
1. Only to Me

**A/N**: (Copypaste from deviantArt.) I've been mulling this idea over in my head for some time. I wasn't sure if I wanted to actually write it or not, but I guess I am. Please note that the rest of the story will not be written from this perspective. After the prologue, it will be in third-person omniscient, past tense. I just felt that this point-of-view was fitting for setting the...er, emotional scene?

Oh - I almost forgot: there will be BL/yaoi in further chapters, along with incest. If that doesn't float your boat, this can be read as a stand-alone fic.

(Addition.) The title was taken from Imogen Heap's "Hide and Seek." I definitely suggest listening to it while you read this.

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Hιδε αηδ Sεεк**_

**Prologue: **Only to Me.

_"You always have…and always will…belong only to me…"_

How long has it been, Riff, since I said those words? How long since we saw the last moments of our lives together? I have yet to see Heaven, Riff – have you found it? Perhaps it has come and gone, and I missed it. Who would have thought Heaven to be merely a passing notion, an opportunity that could simply pass one by should they blink at the wrong moment? I do hope that you have found it, for I would not be able to bear the thought of you spending an eternity without that final chance at peace. You deserve it so much more than I.

It seems like an eternity since you promised to accompany me into Hell, and now that vow echoes childishly in my memory. I would sooner face that fire alone and naked than steal away your last happiness. As much as I want to be held in those strong arms of yours again, I wouldn't be able to drag you away from paradise with a clear conscience.

I will endure this midnight alone for you, even though I don't know how anymore. It's been so long since I've had to suffer anything by myself, and I've long forgotten how to deal with solitude. Even when I thought you'd betrayed me and left me forever, you returned and kept the loneliness at bay. I will have to readjust. It hurts, Riff, and I don't want to do it, but I will do it. For you.

Is this what love is? Is this what selflessness feels like? If it is, I don't know how you've managed it all these years, for I've never known a greater agony. I was comfortable in my selfishness and ego, in thinking that you would never leave my side; letting you go makes me want to cut out my heart and bleed out into the blackness. You deserve it, though, so I'll ride out the pain as best I can. You spent the better part of my life doing nothing but giving and sacrificing for me, so it's my turn to do the same for you, my Riff.

--

Are you alright, Lord Cain? In this swirling darkness, are you alright? I have not been able to find you, even though I promised that I always would. I reach for you and search again and again, but I am blind, deaf, and dumb. If you are right in front of me, I cannot see you; if you call for me, I cannot hear you; though I want to say your name, I cannot speak. The idea that you may be suffering alone somewhere is too much for me to bear. Are you still refusing to cry? Are you still keeping your despair bottled up within that fragile heart of yours? I want to be there for you, hold you and protect you from everything that causes you harm.

I fear that, perhaps, it is not you who are lost this time, Lord Cain, but I. I, who promised to always find you no matter where you were, cannot even find myself. It is a pitiful situation, and I am ashamed that I cannot keep my promise. I will not stop trying, however; a promise is a promise, and a promise to you is worth more than anything. I swore to accompany you to Hell, but I am alone, and this is hardly fire and brimstone. In fact, I daresay that this is what "nothing" feels like. Are you feeling it too? I hope that you are faring better than this. It hurts to imagine you hurting and lonely, waiting for me to find you. But how can I find you when I cannot even find myself…?

I will trudge through this darkness for you until I can hold you again. From end to end, I will not stop searching. Even closed off as I am, without sight or sound, nothing will stop me from being there for you as I always have, Master Cain.

--

_"Is it a boy or a girl, Mary?!"_

_"…They're both boys, Oscar."_

_"Both…?"_

_"Yes. Twins. Cain…and Riff."_

**TBC.**


	2. Threshold

**A/N:** Finally, chapter one of Hide and Seek! I have to say that, for a short prologue, this fic has gotten the most startling response of any of my submissions here. Ten alerts, eight reviews, a C2, and two favorites. Wow! Thanks to the support of everyone who's responded to the prologue, I was able to finish the chapter. Several times, I was considering dropping the fic, but then I'd get a review or an alert, and it would inspire me to keep going. So, my sincerest thanks go out to the following for their support:

**Wolfie fan (anonymous), Mythalie169-TreeSpirit169, Happiness's Deceit, Lord Makura, LunaTickGalasriniel, Moosxaxlot, greengrouch, D.Gray Man Sorrow Invoked, Serenity Destiny Hikari, Skritch, jazzith, jhanna555, kalina ar' mori, and all of the silent readers!**

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? / I mean, _fan_fiction. Not _creator_fiction or _owner_fiction. _Fan_fiction. Nevertheless, Godchild belongs to Yuki Kaori-sensei. But Caincarnation and Riffcarnation are mine...sorta. .

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Hιδε αηδ Sεεк**_

_******Chapter One:** _Threshold.

Mary Weather Gabriel was not a stupid woman in any sense of the word. She knew from the moment that she saw them that her children were not just ordinary children. How could they be, when neither of them looked a thing like either of their parents? She knew that such a thing sometimes happened, but it was a different matter altogether when one's twin boys strongly resembled one's deceased elder brother and his equally-deceased manservant. Anyone could see that it was not just coincidence, even though most would refuse to acknowledge it. Mary was not one of those people; however, she had difficulty seeing her sons as anything more than simply that: her sons.

The elder of the two, by about ten minutes, was Cain – a fact that Mary found mildly amusing, considering that the reverse had been true in their previous lives. He had his late uncle's brown-black hair, and piercing green eyes that would have been identical to her brother's were it not for the absence of that sharp, incriminating gold. Even without it, the child still gazed at his mother with haunted eyes.

Riff was just as obviously similar to his namesake. Even as an infant, he had an aura of something unearthly, as though he was already wise, even without worldly knowledge. His fine hair was pale cornflower-blue, and his eyes were like the sky. For a baby, he was very serious, and rarely cried. Usually, such behavior would disturb a new mother, but Mary knew that, for Riff, this was and would be completely normal.

"I'll bet this was Cain's idea, wasn't it?" she murmured into the heads of her children, both of whom were fast asleep against her bosom. "He never could keep himself out of mischief, after all…"

--

"Cain!" Riff called out breathlessly to his twin brother, who was a good few yards ahead of him. "Caaain! Mother said to _be careful!_" He knew that his twin was just asking for some sort of disaster to befall him. Though he was the younger one, Riff never doubted for a moment that he was the more sensible of the two; he never got into trouble, unlike Cain, for whom "trouble" was like a middle name. With an exasperated huff, the eleven-year-old trudged after his sibling. Cain never listened to him any other time; why would today be any different? It wasn't as though they were dangerously close to the River Thames or anything.

The dark-haired boy wheeled around at his brother's complaint, all smiles and excitement as he turned his back on the rushing river. His emerald eyes glittered beneath the afternoon sun. "I'm _fine_, Riff!" he shouted back, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify his small voice. "Hurry up!" Cain, despite his urging, did not wait long for his sibling before dashing off again like a little imp. He did enjoy baiting Riff – his reactions were always so funny! Even though his antics usually got him – and sometimes his brother, as well – into trouble, the little brunet found nothing more diverting than causing mischief. Besides, it took his mind off of the _nightmares_.

For as long as he could remember, Cain's nights had been haunted by images and scenarios that no _normal_ eleven-year-old child would ever entertain: whippings, poison, murders, and those _eyes_… No matter what he dreamed on a given night, there was, without fail, that same pair of sad, haunting gold-green eyes. They stared at him, unblinking, as though he ought to know something, but didn't. Words floated through these strange, frightening visions; words that were disjointed and made no sense. One word in particular always returned, resounding more loudly than all the others: "Delilah." He had no idea what the word meant, but he didn't dare ask anyone else. It was something that he felt was best kept secret from other people.

"Slow down, Cain! I can't keep up!" Riff's voice snapped the little boy from his reverie, and he was startled to find himself standing precariously at the water's edge. He looked around as though in a daze; nothing was making sense. Slowly, he turned, losing his footing as he did so. Falling, he felt like time had all but stopped. Each second took an eternity, and he flailed as he drew closer and closer to the surface of the water. Nothing was happening fast enough, and Cain wondered if he was really falling at all. His vision became blotted with white, and he saw nothing for a moment. Then, those eyes again. A hand reaching for him – to push him? Save him? He clenched his eyes together tightly, waiting for his body's impact with the water. It never came. Instead, he felt his cheek skid against…grass?

When his sight finally cleared again, he was lying on his back, limbs akimbo, with Riff hovering over him. His brother was panting, and his face was flushed – he must have run. This was curious to Cain, since Riff never ran, never hurried, for anything or anyone. He made to sit up, only to be shoved down again – _hard_ – by his twin.

"Stay there," Riff ordered, brows knit in something like anger or frustration. Startled and intimidated by this uncharacteristic change in his brother's persona, Cain remained on his back.

"…What's wrong, Riff?" he ventured; his voice was timid and trembling, though whether it was out of fear of his near-death experience or of the pale-haired boy above him, he wasn't sure. He was answered with a cuff on the head, though it wasn't particularly hard or painful.

"You idiot! You almost fell into the water!" The reprimand was as tremulous as the question to which it served as an answer. At the corners of Riff's bright blue eyes, tears were beginning to form. "I told you to be careful." Cain frowned and sat up, tugging his younger twin into a hug.

"Sorry," the brunet murmured, abashed and contrite, as his light-haired counterpart sniffled against his grass-stained shirt. "…You won't tell Mother, will you?"

Riff shook his head and pulled away, wiping his nose and eyes on his sleeve. He composed himself again quickly. After all, Cain was the one who was supposed to by crying on _his_ shoulder, not the other way 'round. It was how things were between them. Every since either of them could remember, it was always the elder twin who was prone to tears, despite his adventurous, devil-may-care attitude. (Riff knew it was because of the nightmares, but Cain was always mum on the subject, so they were never mentioned.) Sniffing, the teary-eyed boy nudged his troublemaking brother gently. "Be more careful next time."

Putting the incident behind them without further words, the pair shuffled sedately back to the blanket on which their parents sat. Oscar and Mary Weather both looked puzzled at their boys' soiled attire, but it passed soon enough. After all, they were eleven-year-old boys; it was only natural that they got a little dirty. The rest of the afternoon was passed without any allusion to the fiasco at the river, and the sun was just sinking lazily below the horizon by the time they reached home.

--

_Cain cringes against Riff as shards of glass long as his forearm rain down upon them. This is the end for them, and they both know it, and they cling all the more tightly to one another. If they are to meet death, after all, why not do so together? Cain isn't sure which of them is dead first; he is only aware of a vague pain and the queer warmth of skeletal arms about him. His last thought is the muzzy notion that death is as easy to succumb to as sleep, and would have been nearly as comfortable were it not for the pulsing ache that is far enough away to forget as he allows forgiving oblivion to close over his head._

Sitting bolt-upright in bed, Cain's first instinct was to cry out. He wanted to scream for someone, but he knew better. Instead, he crawled out from beneath his covers and tiptoed down the darkened hall, counting the doors until he reached the fourth: Riff's room. As always, it was ajar, and when the brunet poked his head in, his brother was already awake. He wondered briefly if he ever slept – he seemed to always be alert and watching; Cain couldn't recall ever seeing his twin asleep. Pushing the question from his mind, he cleared the space between the door and Riff's bed. As always, the pale-haired twin provided unquestioning comfort. There was never a word spoken between them as to the hows and whys; there was simply an understanding that seemed to transcend their bond as brothers.

Mary Weather watched through the crack in the door, a mix of comfort and uncertainty on her fair features. Just how much influence did Riff and Cain have over her children? Was history doomed to repeat itself in them, or was she merely fretting over nothing? There were so many questions, so many doubts. A heavy hand fell on her shoulder, and Mary nearly jumped out of her skin. She was relieved to see Oscar standing by her side, however, his gentle smile chasing away the lingering phantoms of the past. She'd never mentioned what she knew to her husband, but she suspected now that he was aware of it anyhow, and she took comfort in his presence.

As he ushered her away, she glanced back at the door; it was just ajar enough for her to see into Riff's room. Her eyes made contact with the piercing pale blue of her son's, but there was something different in them: something so old and weary that it chilled her to the bone.

**TBC.**


	3. Author Note, SORRY!

**AUTHOR NOTE OF DOOOOM.**

So, this isn't an update. I'm sorry. However, I have some news for you all (if anyone's still paying attention to this fic) that you may like. I've begun work on the next few chapters, and in order to make up for my stunningly lame lack of updates, I'm going to just write a few chapters in a row and update them in quick succession. Also, it's with loads of excitement that I introduce my new beta for H&S, **The Dark Moon Alchemist**. So, if you all would pardon just a little bit longer of a wait, I promise to have new chapters up as soon as possible. Thanks to everyone who has remained faithful despite my crappy lack of updates. You all have my honest gratitude, and I hope that you enjoy the next chapters!

Much love,

Vel.


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